Billing Code 3510-22-P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; West Coast Region Vessel
Identification Requirements
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite
the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing
information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously
requested via the Federal Register on April 2, 2024 during a 60-day comment period. This notice
allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Title: West Coast Region Vessel Identification Requirements
OMB Control Number: 0648-0355.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (extension of a currently approved collection).
Number of Respondents: 1,007
Average Hours Per Response: 45 minutes
Total Annual Burden Hours: 151 (annualized over five years).
Needs and Uses: This request is for extension of a currently approved information
collection. The success of fisheries management programs depends significantly on regulatory
compliance. The vessel identification requirement is essential to facilitate enforcement. The
ability to link fishing (or other activity) to the vessel owner or operator is crucial to enforcement

of regulations issued under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. A vessel's official number is required to be displayed on the port and starboard
sides of the deckhouse or hull, and on a weather deck. It identifies each vessel and should be
visible at distances at sea and in the air. Law enforcement personnel rely on vessel marking
information to assure compliance with fisheries management regulations. Vessels that qualify for
particular fisheries are also readily identified, and this allows for more cost-effective
enforcement. Cooperating fishermen also use the vessel numbers to report suspicious or noncompliant activities that they observe in unauthorized areas. The identifying number on fishing
vessels is used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the United States Coast Guard
(USCG), and other marine agencies in issuing regulations, prosecutions, and other enforcement
actions necessary to support sustainable fisheries behaviors as intended in regulations.
Regulation-compliant fishermen ultimately benefit from these requirements, as unauthorized and
illegal fishing is deterred, and more burdensome regulations are avoided.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
Frequency: SFD staff consulted with various groundfish vessel captains participating in
various groundfish pot, longline, midwater trawl, bottom trawl fisheries, and determined that
gear and vessel markings have a five-year life span.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: 50 CFR 660.12
This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the
instructions to view the Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should
be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting
"Currently under 30-day Review - Open for Public Comments" or by using the search function
and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number 0648-0355.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer,
Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs,
Commerce Department.

[FR Doc. 2024-14036 Filed: 6/26/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/27/2024]